If you are not going to re-use the factory retaining plates and ABS tone rings, then you will to purchase these seperately. It makes sense to do this, as you will then be able to leave the factory shafts intact and ready to be used as spares. You will also need to replace the four torque bolts on each retaining plate, as they should not be re-used.

Retaining Plate - Mopar 68008523AA (2 required)

Retaining Plate Nut - Mopar 68003275AA (8 required)

ABS Tone Ring - Currie CE-11320 (2 required)

Superior Axle shaft compared to factory shaft. They look very similar, the difference is in what they are made of and the cold-formed rolled spline process that produces axle splines that are up to 35% stronger than traditional cut splines. The way the bearings are fitted also differs slightly.

First thing you will need to do is press on the ABS tone rings. These need to clear the shaft collar by approx 1/8"-1/4", do not go further than 3/8" or they will no longer line up with the ABS sensors. The opening of the tone ring should be facing outwards towards the hub end of the shaft.

Apply grease to the axle seal and place the retainer plate axle seal on to the shaft, followed by the bearing and collar. The inner bearing surface is chamfered on one side, which indicates the way it goes on the shaft, chamfered side towards outboard end of shaft. Then press the bearing and collar on to the shaft, until the bearing seats on the lip on the shaft. Every time you have built up pressure with the press, it is a good idea to release the pressure and rotate the shaft in the press 90°, this insures that bearing and collar are being pressed on evenly.

Installing the shafts is simple, exlcuding the lug nuts there are just seven bolts/nuts that need to be undone for each shaft. First, remove the caliper and rotor, then undo the four retaining plate nuts.

Remove the bolt on the ABS sensor and pull the sensor back so it is out of the way, there is no need to remove it.

The bearings are lubricated by the differntial fluid, so it is a good idea to tilt the axle up slightly so as not to spill diff fluid when you remove the shaft.

The shaft should just pull out, very slight force with a pry bar will help it un-seat if it is stuck.

Looking inside the housing you can see the diff fluid (showing the reflection of the bearing).

Bolt in the Superior lug nuts, some blue Loctite will ensure they do not move. Grease the bearing with suitable wheel bearing grease, in this case Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease, wipe any excess grease off the bearing mounting surface.

Place the new shaft back into the axle, there is no need to force it, once you have the splines lined up it will easily just slide in. Use new torque nuts for the retaining plate and torque to 45 ft/lbs.

Before installing the rotor and caliper, replace the ABS sensor and ensure that it is over the ABS tone ring. Then install the rotor and caliper and torque the caliper bolts to 75 ft/lbs.

Replace the wheel and re-check all the bolts/nuts. Check all nut/bolts again after 500 miles.

The factory shafts can be cleaned, greased and kept as spares. Wrapping the bearing/seal/etc in masking tape will help keep them clean. Doing the same for the splines will help protect them.

Does this look right to you? Why does your superior axle have fewer bolt holes than mine?

I believe Superior now ship the shafts with both 5x5 and 5x5.5 bolt patterns.

Quote:

The dealer wants like $4.80 PER retainer plate nut, can I use something else?

You can re-use the nuts. You are not supposed to and the FSM clearly states not to, but plenty of people do.

Quote:

WARNING: Never reuse axle retainer nuts. Used torque nuts can loosen up. Failure to follow these instruction may result in personal injury.

I bet just about everyone who had new gears installed re-used the nuts, I know mine were re-used and I put 40k miles on them with no problems.

You can get them on-line for a little less, but by the time you've paid shipping it would be about the same. You could try a local specialty bolt company and see if they have them, I believe they are 12 x 1.5mm torque nuts.

I shelled out for new ones, as the cost was just a small part of the overall job, and I'd rather do it right and not have to worry about them. If you do re-use them, a splash of Loctite wouldn't do any harm, and then just check them every so often.

just wondering why you decided to go with these, vs some chromoly shafts??

Mainly because when I bought them, which was some time ago, there were no chromoly shafts available. I've no real concerns about the Superior shafts, they are stronger than stock and will do the job just fine. They made their front ones out of chromoly as it was more needed there.

Phil, sorry to bump this old thread but I have a set of these on the way. A couple questions, did you disassemble the stock shafts to get to the retainer plate & tone ring, or did you source new parts? I see you have listed a Currie number for the tone ring. Is there a Chrysler service part or do I need to get with Currie?

I'm a little PO'd at my vendor. He told me they came pre-assembled with tone ring, etc., and were plug & play. Apparently not.

I did this today. I couldn't get my axles out even by prying lightly against the drum brake. I found that if you put the disc back on backwards and thread the nuts on a little you can use the disc as a slide hammer. Worked perfectly. And, if you are tying to figure out which axle is longer or shorter, make sure you have the lug nuts threaded on. I was trying to put the long axle in the sort side

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the JKowners.com : Jeep Wrangler JK Forum forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Security Question

*Required, this field is not shown to others.
While balancing on a piece of wood, two inches by four inches known as a 2x4, john and his friend sally both spotted a dalmatian inside a truck with sirens, headed to put out a fire. State what the 2x4 is made of.

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Date of Birth

Your date of birth and age are displayed in several places on the forum. Only the administrator will have access to your date of birth should you choose to hide it via the privacy option below.

Month

Day

Year

Privacy

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.